Laura Desrosiers-Whalley and Lawrence Morgan-Shelbourne will be presenting at the Lithic Studies Society Conference this week, discussing preliminary findings from our recent excavations at West Suffolk Hospital, Bury St Edmunds.
The 2024 fieldwork revealed a sealed Early Neolithic midden deposit rich in flint and pottery, offering an exceptional glimpse into activity around 3800 BC. From a large, naturally formed hollow, over 1,400 struck flints were recovered, alongside a substantial assemblage of Carinated Bowl tradition ceramics, some of the earliest pottery used by farming communities in Britain.
The flint assemblage includes both knapping debris and retouched pieces, but evidence suggests tool-making was not taking place on site. Instead, the material appears to have been accumulated through middening.
Radiocarbon dates place this activity firmly within the earliest Neolithic horizon, providing a rare opportunity to explore how early communities made, used, and discarded their tools. The site has important implications for understanding Early Neolithic depositional practices and the relationship between lithic and ceramic assemblages across southern Britain.
Join Laura and Lawrence at the conference to hear more about this remarkable site and its significance for Early Neolithic studies.
📍 Voluntary Action Leicestershire (VAL), Leicester
🗓 7–8 November 2025
